WXRT scores historic ratings victory

Terrific survey for Audacy properties

For the first time in its storied history, Triple A (Adult Album Alternative) WXRT-FM took the top spot in Nielsen’s monthly PPM rankings.  

The Audacy-owned station finished first ahead of competitors The Drive (WDRV-FM) and WLIT-FM, ahead of sister station WBBM Newsradio, which finished second. WXRT also finished second in the key adult 25-54 demo, but was way behind leader 101.9 The Mix (WTMX.)

It was a strong March PPM survey for Audacy, as WSCR The Score has a strong showing thanks to adding a simulcast to 104.3 FM, moving up to a combined 2.5 share, and finished first in the male 25-54 demo for the Winter Book – the key demo for the station. 

Also showing gains were B96, which grew to a 2.9, finishing eleventh as it appears former listeners of the now-shuttered Jams 104.3 have migrated to the longtime Rhythmic station. It’s the best performance for WBBM-FM in a least a decade. Among adults 18-34, B96 finished second to 103.5 Kiss FM, signaling we may have a competitive contemporary hit radio race again for the first time in years. 

Audacy claimed five of the top fifteen overall slots with WXRT (1st), WBBM (2nd), WUSN-FM (5th), WBBM-FM (11th), and WSCR (tied for 14th with WOJO-FM.)

Of note, three Cumulus stations: Conservative Talk WLS-AM, Classic Hits WLS-FM, and Alternative Q101 (WKQX-FM) are no longer listened in Nielsen’s PPMs because of a current lawsuit by the Atlanta-based conglomerate (now paused due to Cumulus’ bankruptcy) against the ratings service, keeping all of their stations off the list. The move makes it difficult to gauge how the radio scene is portrayed in Chicago and other cities because the information provided is now incomplete. Nielsen’s policies (and its predecessor Arbitron’s) have long been a thorn in the side of radio owners and programmers. It is not known how long the legal action is supposed to last.